Qualitative Research in Practice : Stories From the Field - Blogs Unpad

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Observation
Observation is a very effective way of finding out what people do
in particular contexts, the routines and interactional patterns of
their everyday lives. In the human services, observational research
methods can provide an understanding of what is happening in the
encounter between a service provider and user, or within a family,
a committee, a ward or residential unit, a large organisation or a
community.
Observation has a long history in ethnographic fieldwork in
anthropology (Spradley, 1980) and sociology (Johnson, 1975;
Hammersley & Atkinson, 1995). The many classic studies using
ethnographic methods include Liebow’s studies of African American
street corner men (1967) and homeless women (1993), Dalton’s
(1959) study of formal and informal aspects of the world of
managers, and Becker et al.’s (1961) study of the professional enculturation
of medical students.
This chapter commences with a brief introduction to some of
the practicalities of observation in human services research. We
consider some of the strengths and limitations of observation,
approaches to combining observation with other data collection
methods, observation roles, the timing and duration of observation
sessions, and recording observations. The second part of the chapter
includes two edited interviews with researchers who used observation
as part of their research.
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